


Somebody Else

by 8ethespider8itch



Series: The Mixtape [2]
Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Bubbline, Sad Ending, marcibel - Freeform, post breakup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8ethespider8itch/pseuds/8ethespider8itch
Summary: One icy night in february, Marceline turns off her phone.Prequel to Weight of it All.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just like Weight of it All, this has a companion track. Listen to Somebody Else by the 1975 to get the full experience.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bimd2nZirT4

             Marceline has been hearing rumors. She's not a the gossiping type, though, and she knows better than to listen to second-hand information. She knows El's stories are almost never right, that they're littered with exaggerations and blatant falsehoods. So she ignores them. And that's a mistake.

            It's Valentine's day, and with a raw, open heart Marceline realizes that she still has reservations for a fairly fancy dinner with Bonnie. They've been broken up for well over three months, but they had made the reservations almost six months in advance to be sure that they’d have a table at the nicest place in town. Now, with a waterlogged chest and an ache in her middle, Marceline knows it's a shame to let the reservations go to waste. She also knows that sitting at home won't make her feel even a tiny bit better. So she makes the decision to dress up nice, order something tasty, and enjoy an evening to herself. And that's a mistake.

             She squeezes into a black sequined bodycon, slings a suit jacket over her shoulders, and slips into her wingtips. She braves the cold to walk four blocks, avoiding puddles of slush as best she can but still soaking her stockings. The night is frigid, her breath puffs out as ghosts that dance among the neon city lights. There is a hum in the air, a vibration that makes her feel like maybe this was the right decision. She hurries along, trying not to see the couples all around her. They only have eyes for one another, so at least there's no risk of eye contact.

             The restaurant is an obelisk of onyx, shimmering in the dark. She pushes through the smoky glass doors and tells the hostess her name. She's a pretty girl, green eyed and blue haired. The girl arches a brow at her when she says that it's just her tonight, then smiles broadly. Her fingers twist in her hair and she wonders aloud why someone as pretty as Marceline would be spending Valentine's alone at a five star restaurant. It's clear that she's doing her best to make a move. Marceline tries to be interested, but she can only think about the consequences of flirting, and it doesn't feel worthwhile anymore. She's offered one of two tables: the one in the corner by the windows, where she can see outside, or the one in the back corner, where she can have some privacy. The hostess winks, actually winks at her when she says this. Wincing at the thought of privacy and solitude, and what she would do with that privacy if she weren't here alone, she takes the table at the front. And that's a mistake.

            She's sipping a boulevardier and skimming the menu for something even remotely affordable when a swinging pink ponytail catches her eye through the tinted glass. Bonnibel is walking by, arm in arm with a girl with long, black hair and almond eyes. The drink nearly slips from Marceline's fingers. Her heart crashes to the floor. She can feel where it was severed from her chest, still dripping, but it certainly isn't beating anymore. She had ignored the rumors. And that had been a mistake.

            Bonnie and her date disappear for an instant, and then they're in the restaurant. The other girl leads Bonnibel to the bar, whispering something in her ear that makes them both laugh and helping her up onto her barstool. The stranger is helping Bonnie out of her coat and offering to take her bag as well. It's like a car accident or a particularly bad American Idol audition; Marceline can't look away. They order drinks and share a dish of pickles at the bar, whispering and giggling like schoolgirls, like a cliche. Marceline watches with glazed eyes and parted lips, a fish flopping on a dock. She doesn't want to see this. This is all a huge mistake.

            They're talking, and laughing, and it looks nice. At some point, Marceline manages to order food. Bonnie is scrolling through her phone, arms intertwined with the other girl’s as she shows her something on the screen. It’s maddening. They finish their drinks and leave, still leaning on one another like they’re symbiotic, arms raveled round one another and heads nearly touching to keep their conversation private. As they walk out the door, Bonnibel kisses her date on the cheek. The scotch eggs turn to ash in Marceline’s mouth. She puts her head in her hands and crumbles.  
The waitress nods sympathetically at her, and boxes up her food without asking. She gently sets down another drink. Marceline doesn't look up at her. A few minutes later, her phone buzzes.

            “Hope you’re enjoying Valentine’s!” Bonnie had texted her. Marceline inhales sharply, and turns off her phone. This was a mistake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Bonnie's interpretation of the same Valentine's dinner.

Bonnie had always hated Valentine's day. She couldn't stand the bitter complaints of single folk, couldn't stomach the idea of wasting large amounts of money on someone she already loves, and was irritated by how commercial and corporate love was to the people all around her. But this year was even worse. 

The day was gray and slushy, the aftermath of a storm still coating the sidewalks and the coming rain blotting out the sun. There was something so stark and raw about the air against her face that Tuesday morning that it made her eyes water. Bonnie did her best not to check her phone as she walked the six blocks to work. She knew if she got anything, it would be from Marceline. Nothing hurt more than Marceline. 

Hours dragged on, and Bonnie rifled through paperwork and lab reports on auto pilot until lunch time. Shoko, a friend from the upstairs lab who had recently returned from an archaeological dig in Saudi Arabia, plopped down in a seat beside her. 

"Ugh, Valentine's day is miserable, huh?" she said conversationally, biting into her sandwich. Bonnie didn't answer, she just nodded. "I want to go out tonight," Shoko declared. "Girls' night out for the office singles! L, you in?"

Liz, the secretary from the lobby, shook her head. "Brad and I are going out tonight. He owes me a nice dinner and an apology. Maybe Fiona will go with you."

Fiona sat down at the table. "No can do ladies. Cake and I signed up for a pottery class. Plus, I'm out of sick days." Cake snickered. 

"Guess it's you and me, Bonnibel," Shoko said, turning to her. Bonnie tried to turn her down, but Shoko just shook her head. "You need this." And that was that.

* * *

 

At 6, Bonnie found herself in a tizzy,  digging through her closet for something suitable tk wear. Since she and Marceline broke up, she hadn't thought much about her clothes. Maybe this was a bad idea. She was just about to give up and tell Shoko she was sick when a piece of pink velvet caught her eye.

It was a tee shirt dress, loose and short in a shade of champagne pink that she normally wouldnt have chosen. She bought it from a thrift store one afternoon after Marceline insisted that she wouldn't. Her clothes were pretty and utilitarian for the most part. Nothing excessive, nothing revealing, all neat and easy to match. This dress was neither. It was short and loud and off the shoulder...and tonight, it didn't seem so foolish. It felt brave. Bonnie slipped it over her head and looked in the mirror.

Without Marceline reminding her to eat, the girl before her was thinner, hollowed. Her eyes were haunted and hollowed. But this dress slipped off one shoulder and showed off her long legs. 

Shoko buzzed from the front door, and Bonnie hastily swept her hair into a ponytail and stepped into her most stable heels before dashing out the door.

Shoko was standing on the sidewalk, stomping her feet in the cold. "You look great!" she said, offering Bonnie her arm and some space under her umbrella. Bonnibel's stomach dropped slightly,  and she took it. 

"Where are we headed?" she asked, her breath spiraling heavenward.

"I thought we could bar hop a bit. Get sime free drinks, check out some new places." Shoko walked purposefully. "We could start and Jordana's?" 

Jordana's was a cheap little bar frequented by college kids. On Valentine's day they had  Singles Night, serving themed drinks and heart shaped jello shots. It sounded sort of trashy to Bonnie but Shoko looked excited so she nodded and followed her cue.

The bar was crowded,  but the girls found a table near the back next to the smoke machine. Shoko ordered a bottle of pink champagne and six jello shots to split. Bonnie tried to protest, but she had few friends more determined than Shoko, and it wasn't worth the fight.

The drinking was easy, and by the time they killed the bottle and wandered out into the street, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. "Where next?" Bonnie asked giddily.

"Onyx," Shoko replied, grinning as they strolled down Main Street. Bonnie clung heavily to her. The shots had gone straight to her head, and her heels felt like stilts.

"Onyx! But they're by reservation!" She and Marceline had planned to go there for their anniversary, but they hadn't booked soon enough. Marceline had promised that it would be their Valentine's dinner, but they hadn't made it that long. 

"The bar isn't," Shoko said cheerfully, "and they make drinks like you wouldn't believe." 

Bonnie had a feeling she'd regret this choice, but she tagged along gamely at the thought of fancy drinks. They sat together at the bar, all black marble and swampy green light, and ordered cocktails made from liquors they'd never heard of. 

"Let's play a game," Shoko suggested.

"Like I Spy?" Bonnie giggled. 

"Sort of. I like to play Guess the Crime. I look around at the peopnearby...like that guy in the pink suit! And I try to think up what crime they may have committed."

"Besides fashion crimes?" Bonnie asked, giggling. 

"I think he stole a car," Shoko said solemnly.

"What about that guy?" Bonnie pointed to a waiter with a strange cowlick.

"He poisoned his girlfriend for cheating on him," Shoko whispered back, leaning in conspiratorially. 

They played a few sounds, whispering and giggling drunkenly over their drinks. A waitress with peacock blue hair shot them a nasty look. 

"What about her?" Shoko asked, pointing behind her menu at a girl sitting alone at a table by the front windows. Bonnie's heart stopped. If she didn't know better, she'd think that was Marceline. But this girl was too composed, too elegant to be Marceline. She wore a tight dress that clung to every curve and scooped much too low at the back. A tuxedo jacket hung casually over one shoulder. She was absorbed fully in her menu, looking calm and confident even as she sat all alone in the crowded restaurant. She couldn't be Marceline, who never went out on her own or showed more skin than men's gym shorts allowed...but she absolutely was. Bonnibel's tongue turned to stone.

"She steals all the change from the Take A Penny, Leave a Penny," Bonnie said breathlessly, barely a mumble. 

Shoko laughed for a moment before seeing the pain in Bonnibel's face. She gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. "Let's get the check and head to Lightside," she suggested gently, waving the bartender over. "I think you need a more lively atmosphere."

As they left the bar, Bonnie couldn't help sending Marceline the friendliest Valentine's wishes her trembling fingers could muster.

Marceline never responded. Bonnie drank.

**Author's Note:**

> And now we know why Bonnie said that the calls at the beginning were different. This series is going to look at different moments in the girls' relationship in a list of one-shots with accompanying tracks. I'll probably build a playlist on Spotify to go along with it, just for fun. If your interested in a few spoilers as I add on to the track list, check me out on Spotify at Lois Lame.


End file.
